An inmate being moved from a Cleveland County courtroom back to the jail was charged with attempting to escape after wandering into a secretary's office in search of cookies, according to the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office.

Detention Center Capt. Durwin Briscoe said Robert Junior Burris, 18, was being moved along with five other inmates on Jan. 22 when he started "trotting" down the hallway. Burris was in leg constraints and handcuffs at the time, Briscoe said.

Briscoe said Burris passed three doors that led to the outside of the building and turned into an office at the end of the hall where he ended up in the bathroom.

"He wasn't trying to escape," Briscoe said.

He said Burris has "mental issues," and is being treated by local mental health agency, Partners Behavioral Health Management.

Briscoe said he was unaware Burris had been charged, and the violation could have been handled in-house.

"We have certain sanctions we could have given him, which is what we should have done," he said.

Those sanctions range from taking away visitation or recreation privileges.

He said he is looking in to why Burris was charged.

"(The detention center officer) told him to stop," Briscoe said. " To him it was like he was playing hide and go seek. He said, 'man, I was trying to get these cookies.'"

Briscoe said the secretary in the office kept cookies on her desk.

Indicator of larger issue

Burris was also charged with assaulting a government official after Briscoe said there was a "scuffle" between the officer and Burris when the officer attempted to adjust his handcuffs.

He said some inmates blatantly "act out" but Burris was not doing so.

Briscoe said the inmate had been in court that day for an initial appearance on a malicious conduct by prisoner charge.

He said the incident is an indicator of a much larger issue.

"We have become the mental health provider for a lot of people," Briscoe said. "Some do not need to be in jail. They need to be somewhere else to get proper treatment."

He said, with state institutions shutting down, people suffering from mental disorders end up getting in trouble and land in jail.

Burris is being held with no bond at the Cleveland County Detention Center.

Besides the escape charge, he also faces two counts of felony breaking and entering, two counts of probation violation, two additional counts of malicious conduct by a prisoner, resisting a public officer, assault on a government official, two counts of larceny after breaking and entering and two counts of possession of stolen goods.